Raye leads nominations for Britain’s pop music honours

Music stars gather in London on Saturday for the annual BRIT Awards, Britain's pop music honours, where singer-songwriter Raye leads nominations with a record seven nods and the Rolling Stones and Blur are also contenders for prizes.

Raye is nominated in the awards' top categories: artist of the year, album of the year for "My 21st Century Blues" and song of the year for "Escapism".

The 26-year-old is also up for the genre categories pop act and R&B act as well as best new artist, with her tally breaking the record for the most nominations by a single artist in any one year, according to ceremony organisers, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Raye, who parted ways with her record label in 2021 to work as an independent artist after she said the label had withheld her debut album, began early celebrations this week, when she was named BRITs Songwriter of the Year. She is the first woman to win the award since its launch in 2022.

"It is my very first BRIT award and I will treasure this trophy very much," Raye said in a statement.

"I am so grateful to be recognised as a songwriter as this is a craft I am so passionate about and have been since I started my journey as a musician."

Reuters